August 30, 2010
To the SEC:
The difference between brokers, financial planners, and financial advisors alludes me. As a self-employed professional I have struggled to put together a plan for retiring someday, hiring brokers who are planners and advisers who are brokers, all of whom want to move all my investments around. Bottom line is that as I approach 50 years of age I am realizing that my retirement funds would have been worth significantly more now if I had put them in bank CDs and kept half an eye out for decent interest rates. I realize there is no one right answer for long term investing, but the system is an expensive maze that leaves me not trusting the financial professionals; either I do not have enough funds to warrant their highly sought after attention or their own bottom line seems to be the priority. At least if it were more clear what might be motivating a financial professional it may be easier for the small investor to make good choices on who to hire, after all I am hiring them for their professional advice.
Linda J Batchelder, AIA
Baker Batchelder Architects